As autonomous vehicles get closer to becoming a reality, a price comparison website has developed a tool to create what it claims are the first ever driverless car insurance ‘quotes’.

Comparethemarket.com worked with Professor Neville Stanton, an expert on human engineering, to look at how completing a car insurance quote might work for driverless cars.

The quote journey is designed to help customers better understand the concept of driverless cars and demonstrate the kind of questions most likely to impact driverless car insurance premiums.

The firm also published new research showing that Brits remain divided about the idea of driverless cars. According to the survey, 44% of Brits support their arrival, while the same proportion are opposed to their introduction.

Almost three-quarters of those opposed to them (73%) are worried about driverless cars malfunctioning, while two-thirds (68%) want to retain full control of their car, found the poll. More than half of their opponents (55%) are worried driverless cars could be remotely hacked.

"The future of driverless cars is closer than we think"

Two in five respondents (43%) also believe their car insurance premiums could increase in a driverless car, despite the technology’s potential to reduce crashes.

“The future of driverless cars is closer than we think,” said Simon McCulloch, Director of Insurance at comparethemarket.com.

“A major point of concern and confusion for motorists is how the arrival of self-driving cars will affect their insurance policies.

“By seeing how a future policy might work, we hope we can help the debate on what the future could hold for personal transportation and how this could impact insurance policies,” said McCulloch.

“Technologies such as contactless cards, online shopping, and even the introduction of apps has not always been met with positivity,” said Professor Stanton, Chair of Human Factors Engineering at the University of Southampton.

“It will be interesting to see how opinions evolve once driverless cars are out on UK roads.”

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